Advantest America is the North American subsidiary of Advantest Corporation, the world’s leading provider of automatic test equipment (ATE) to the semiconductor industry. ATE is used during semiconductor manufacturing to verify that a chip functions to specification and without malfunction in the end-use application – be it consumer electronics, telecommunications, medical instrumentation or computers and digital TVs, to name a few. Advantest has for over six decades led the way in developing new and innovative test and handling solutions for the global electronics industry. For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018, Advantest reported year-end revenue of ¥207.2 billion.

Advantest Corporation’s aggressive annual investment in R&D – greater than ¥9.7 billion in FY2017 -- has been integral to its success, helping to maintain its competitive advantage in the ATE sector. Advantest operates six R&D facilities around the globe. The company’s success in developing, commercializing, installing, and servicing leading edge systems has earned it a place with virtually every leading semiconductor manufacturer in the world. Since its inception in 1954, Advantest has led with innovation, been renowned for product quality and reliability, and made competitive cost of ownership a hallmark. This is why the world’s chipmakers trust Advantest with what is in many ways the most critical function in the fab flow today—testing their devices.

The Changing Role of Test

In the semiconductor industry, the role of test and measurement technology is undergoing a significant transformation. Today’s highly complex devices, characterized by multiple dies, multiple cores and even entire systems on a chip, are more difficult and costly to produce than ever before. Once viewed as a bottleneck to production flow, today automatic test equipment is seen as a critical enabler, giving chip manufacturers unprecedented control over the fabrication of these highly complex devices. There are numerous technical and economic arguments behind the rise of test technology as a source of competitive advantage, and Advantest in particular is leading this transformation.

In addition to its leading global market position, Advantest has earned a worldwide reputation for blazing new trails in technology innovation. Having established, over its 60-year history, a track record of helping customers turn innovations into practical, market-ready products, in 2003, Advantest became the first ATE supplier to introduce a system-on-chip (SoC) tester platform based on the Open Semiconductor Test Architecture, or OPENSTAR, specification, an open test architecture that that provides a modular, open platform for accommodating future applications and solutions. This extends the lifetime of the test system and significantly lowers the cost of ownership.

Solid Foundation Leads to Strong Performance

Based in Tokyo, Japan, Advantest was founded in 1954 as Takeda Riken Industry Co., Ltd., producing electronic measuring instruments. In 1972, it entered the semiconductor testing business, began trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1983, and then became Advantest Corporation in 1985. The company also has subsidiaries throughout Asia. Advantest Corporation is responsible for approximately 4,900 employees worldwide.

Advantest America Takes on a Leading Role

With over 90 percent of Advantest’s sales now originating outside Japan, Advantest America, Inc. has become an essential component of the corporation’s ongoing business. Advantest America is headquartered in San Jose, California, and supports customers from 13 offices throughout the country. U.S. R&D efforts, concentrated in California, are directed at next-generation software and hardware applications.

For 30 consecutive years, Advantest has been ranked among VLSI Research Inc.’s 10 BEST for customer satisfaction. In the annual VLSI Research survey, semiconductor capital-equipment users are asked to rate their suppliers in 13 categories that exemplify a supplier’s product performance and relationship with its customers. Advantest’s consistent high ranking in this survey attests to the company’s strong focus on anticipating technology trends and developing technology to help customers keep pace with those trends.

Maintaining Corporate Social Responsibility

As a conscientious member of the communities in which it operates, Advantest Corporation actively seeks to conduct business in a morally and environmentally conscious fashion. In the 1990s, the company committed to long-term social responsibility. Its comprehensive “green program” involves increased reduction, reuse, and recycling (3-Rs) of materials at the manufacturing plant and business offices. The company also reworked its supply chain, choosing more environmentally friendly suppliers, and qualified for ISO15001 Certification for its new U.S. headquarters in San Jose. More recently, Advantest America embarked on a complementary corporate social responsibility drive.

Advantest America has also implemented social programs to expand the company’s contribution to the communities in which it does business. Advantest America participates in the Second Harvest Food Bank drive, collecting canned and packaged food for the homeless and hungry in both Santa Clara and Chicago. Additionally, in San Jose, the company hosts the Family Giving Tree, a nonprofit organization that encourages employees to buy Christmas presents for low-income children in the area.

Over the past several years, Advantest America mobilized employees to volunteer with Rebuilding Together, a home-renovation program for low-income Silicon Valley residents, and with Habitat for Humanity to help build low-income residences in the Bay Area. Advantest will continue to expand its social-responsibility charter in the years ahead as it seeks out new opportunities to strengthen its position as a corporate global citizen.